Varner joins leadership at WSU North Puget Sound at Everett

EVERETT, Wash. – Lynne K. Varner is joining the leadership team at Washington State University North Puget Sound at Everett as associate vice chancellor.

She will focus on: strengthening student pathways, particularly among underserved populations; marketing and communications in support of student recruitment and retention; and community engagement in the region to boost public and private support.

Varner has been with WSU marketing and communications since 2014. She has served on a number of boards and coalitions that intersect with WSU’s mission, including most recently the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees.

“Lynne is a credible voice on public education,” said Paul Pitre, WSU North Puget Sound at Everett chancellor. “I look forward to leveraging her unique skills and community relationships to help WSU North Puget Sound at Everett advance its mission of serving students throughout the western Washington area.”

She worked for the Seattle Times, Washington Post and United Press International and was nominated twice for a Pulitzer Prize. She was one of 18 journalists worldwide awarded a John S. Knight fellowship to study race, healthcare and politics at Stanford University. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.